Thesp cast as villain in Relativity's Greek mythology clash

Rourke’s been cast as the villain, King Hyperion. Tarsem Singh is directing with production set to start in April.

Story follows a young warrior Theseus who leads his men into battle with the immortal Greek gods to defeat evil elder gods of the Titans in order to save mankind.

“War of the Gods” will be produced by Gianni Nunnari of Hollywood Gang Prods., Mark Canton of Atmosphere Entertainment and Relativity topper Ryan Kavanaugh. Nunnari and Canton partnered on 2007’s “300,” producing the sword-and-sandals saga for Warner Bros.

Jason Keller penned the most recent draft of the script. An earlier version was written by Christian Gudegast; producers began development in 2008 after buying a spec from Charley and Vlas Parlapanides.

Rourke will be seen next as the Russian villain in “Iron Man 2″ opposite Robert Downey Jr., who recruited Rourke for the part during last year’s awards season.